Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Invests $1.47 Million in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 39,092 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,000. Comcast makes up 1.3% of Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Comcast during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,777,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Comcast by 290.6% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 149,314 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $6,237,000 after purchasing an additional 111,092 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 72.1% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 31,195 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 13,066 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,732,275 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $72,344,000 after purchasing an additional 80,439 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Comcast by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 14,918,501 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $623,146,000 after purchasing an additional 676,920 shares in the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Comcast Stock Performance

CMCSA stock opened at $36.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.96. Comcast Co. has a 12 month low of $32.50 and a 12 month high of $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $138.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is an increase from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CMCSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Comcast from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Macquarie cut their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank cut Comcast from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $44.50 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Comcast from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.64.

Comcast Profile

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising.